


On a Night of Snow and Wine

by Darkhymns



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Angel Wings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Flying, Snow, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns
Summary: On New Year's Eve, Lloyd and Colette stop at Flanoir, having no time to visit anywhere else and just quietly usher in the year that would come… Until wine is involved.When it comes to alcohol, Lloyd was a lightweight. And sometimes, feelings can just slip out.
Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	On a Night of Snow and Wine

**Author's Note:**

> Had a need to write a colloyd fic just for the new year! (Also self-care). It's still an hour from midnight from where I am so this is still technically my last fic for 2020. If you've been reading my stories all throughout, thank you for sticking with me through the obsession haha. Happy New Year!

The last time Lloyd had been tipsy was when he had been 12 years old, unsupervised, and much too full of confidence for his own good. His father’s ale cabinet had been thoroughly locked up, hidden away in a storage room full of spices and herbs. Sometimes he'd see Dirk get a small mug, bringing with it full of something frothy and dirt-colored. 

So of course, he had been instantly curious.

Lloyd had already been practicing his lockpicking, and it was only a matter of hours before he finally got to the contents. He didn't exactly understand why it said ‘spirits’ on the bottle in Dwarven script, but he wanted to try it anyway. After all, he was supposed to learn all the Dwarven things from his dad, so why not this?

Dirk came home from log-cutting to find his son passed out on the wooden floors, the one bottle he had taken barely half-drunk. The Dwarven Vows he had to learn that night had been particularly ancient, with their meanings convoluted and making his head hurt. He of course forget them the very next day. Re-learning them wasn't any easier.

So, it just seemed only a bit similar, when the inn sent him and Colette some wine to their room for the night, a complimentary gift in celebration of the new year. Flanoir was once again blanketed in snow, the lampposts softly lighting up the steeple of the cathedral nearby, making the white seem so much brighter than before. 

"Oh, for us?" Lloyd asked, as Colette handed over the bottle to him that the innkeeper had personally given. "It looks so fancy! And...we're actually not paying for it?" Lloyd would never say no to some free stuff!

The wine bottle had a name printed on it that Lloyd only vaguely recognized. (Did it say 'Altamira' on it?) The liquid in it was a deep red, one that caught the light of the magi-technology lamps nearby. The iron heater that stood in the corner of their room gave off enough warmth to stave off the cold, even if it made him somewhat sleepy.

"They were so nice to give it to us!" Colette occasionally blew into her hands, barely seen mist appearing in the air as she did so. Next to her, their cloaks lay on the backs of chairs, placed as close to the heater as possible. Her cheeks were a flushed red, the cold getting to her - but her smile was so wide, he didn't think he'd seen her this happy recently. 

"Yeah. I guess we have some cups around here…" Lloyd was hesitant though, worried the last time he had drank anything. This was alcohol, wasn't it?  _ Maybe I shouldn't… _

"Oh, that's okay, Lloyd. I know I shouldn't drink."

The sureness in her voice was surprising. Too sure. The kind of sureness that Lloyd knew she was covering something else up. "Huh? Why shouldn't you? We're old enough now! Or uh, close enough!" They missed the mark by a few years, but at 18, he felt Colette was allowed at least a sip of wine!

Colette's once bright smile dimmed a bit, clasping those chilly hands of her together. "I was just taught that I shouldn't, you know? It might make me too silly… A Chosen can't-" she stopped, pausing on the word and sighing. "Sorry."

Lloyd instantly saw the problem.

With a flourish, Lloyd went to the glass cups that were set for them on a nearby table, quickly handing one to Colette. "Well now you definitely are!"

"Oh? It's okay, really! I shouldn't have to-"

"Colette, you're not a Chosen, remember? We've been over this." He said so as he struggled to pull out the cork in the wine bottle, even going so far as to plant his foot on a chair to give him more force (and height?) "No matter what people still call you, no matter what  _ anyone _ says. You're Colette! And you're allowed to do what you want- Ah!" Lloyd finally freed the cork which flew through the air, hitting him square in the forehead. "Ow…"

Colette gasped, but also let slip out a small giggle, the sound soft and airy within the warm inn room. The fire in the heater next to them crackled, warm light illuminating the floors beneath them. "Lloyd…"

"Come on, gimme your cup! We're drinking!" He couldn't help but notice how  _ Zelos-like _ he sounded, but he hoped it wasn't too weird. "We've worked hard all year for the Exspheres, so it's fine!"

"Mm...okay!" Colette eagerly held out her cup, watching as Lloyd carefully poured the wine into it. The drink sloshed dangerously to the rim, but she adjusted her hold to not spill a drop. She had gotten less clumsy over the years. 

Lloyd remembered when he had simply drunk straight out of the bottle from Dirk's brewery cabinet, and the gruff voice that had pierced his foggy dreams in his hangover. Not this time though! Lloyd figured it was because he didn't drink it out of a cup like he was supposed to. 

Once done, the wine bottle was half-empty, set back down on the table. The glass reflected the falling snow outside, as well as the lights of others that walked past, celebrating the evening with a soft stillness that could only be found here in this snowy place. 

Lloyd grinned, held his cup up and encouraged Colette to do the same. "It does smell kind of weird but it probably tastes okay!"

Colette mimicked him, standing tall, and holding her cup to his, their glass surfaces clinking against the other. "Hehe. Should we share ours? I heard that's what you're supposed to do."

"Oh really? Let's do that!" Lloyd barely questioned it, bringing his own glass to her mouth, watching the way her breath misted in the air. But less now, since it was getting warmer in this room, and so comfortable too. "This works?"

"Yeah! I'll try not to spill!" Even as her very own laughter threatened that, even as her very own feet was close to tripping over his. Their boots were still wet from walking in the knee-deep snow outside, noses numb from the chilly breeze, from the white flakes in the air. But again, he had never seen her happier.

Besides, just one drink shouldn't mess him up too much, should it?

Even as Colette nearly misjudged the angle of her cup against his lips, Lloyd adapted. The wine was warm, a little tingly, and it didn't taste as yummy as he had hoped. But it was so warm, and he could only imagine how Colette must have felt that warmth, contrasting the chill against her cheeks.

He should have been more worried about him messing up, angling the cup too far to let some wine slip down her chin. "Uh oh! Sorry!"

"Ah! L-Lloyd!" Her laughter was light, and she used her free hand to grip his shoulder, fingers creasing the rough fabric of his jacket. 

"Don't worry though, it's free anyway!" And he started to laugh too, just a small chuckle, one that morphed like the slow build of a thunderstorm. But the drink made his chest feel light, and that same warmth traveled all the way down his arms and legs, even to the very tips of his ears. "This stuff … it's pretty good!"

Oh, maybe just even one sip for him was already too much…

"It is good! But, are you okay, Lloyd?" Colette tilted her head, so full of curiosity, as she always was with everything. "You're moving your feet a lot."

"I am?" Lloyd looked down, and what do you know? His feet kept shuffling around a bit, as if he was trying to dance! That was pretty weird. 

"Haha, weird!" And as he looked down, he nearly upended his drink, and doing so as if he was stuck in water, his movements stretched out. 

"Oh, careful!" Colette had to gently take Lloyd's cup from his hand, while also pulling her own back. "Heh, now you're being a bit silly…"

"That bad?" he asked, half-serious. "I wanna be cool, not silly!" But he could hear it in his voice. He was definitely being silly, maybe more than silly. The same familiar fog, pleasant and nice, so nice that he could almost fall asleep to it…

But he didn't sleep. He only kept looking at Colette, who seemed a little giddy herself, though just by a little bit. "You're still really cool, Lloyd."

"I am?" And again, another chuckle left him, tickling his sides. It felt different when she called him cool, even now. It made his heart leap across miles and miles. "I guess I'm also silly too…"

"That's right," Colette said. She took his hands in her own, swaying along with him, as if what he was doing was the most amazing thing and she also wanted to try. "You can be both!"

She still laughed so freely, like she always had. Except...more now. Years before, he'd felt that she would hold back, keeping her voice from being too loud, or holding her hands so close to herself, as if trying to be as small as possible. Sometimes, he'd see her go back to that, to old habits and routines, to all those proper ways of being a Chosen - to be more Chosen-like, like he once said to her.

The room was a bit spinny, and the warmth in his limbs, in his chest, now made it to his head, as if he was being wrapped in a fluffy blanket. It shouldn't be normal to get drunk this fast, should it…?

Oh. That's what Dirk had said to him all those years ago. "Lad, how'd you go and get yourself drunk?" Dirk had been so peeved that his thick accent had slipped, making his words nigh-unintelligible to Lloyd's ears then. 

He was drunk now, and he was falling, almost. Colette still held onto his hands, keeping him steady. He heard the concern there, just as her words trailed through the air. "Lloyd..?"

Even three years later, Colette was still Colette.

Lloyd reached out, arms encircling her close. "Hm...maybe tired. Maybe…" And her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the way she would on those cold nights outside, when their campfire would slowly dim, and they had to find the warmth wherever they could.

"Aw, but it's not even midnight yet." Her sadness was mostly feigned, but there was a hint of it there, just enough. "If you really wanted to sleep, we can."

It was getting too easy to fall asleep, to want that soft fuzziness in his head to surround him completely. But could he resist it? "Hmm...but… it's not midnight yet, you're right! Gotta wake up.. and not have the room spin.."

"Oh, Lloyd." Colette placed a hand over his head, fingers threading through his hair, tangles unfurling at her very touch. Too relaxing, but he didn't want to mention that. "Maybe we should have water to balance out the wine?"

"Mmhmm.." he nodded, but his gaze was caught by the way Colette's hair was framed by the window. Snowflakes continued to drizzle outside, on Flanoir where it was eternally winter. Even in Iselia, snow was so rare, he had mainly just heard of it in class when he could care to pay attention.

Outside it looked so cold still, not unlike the warmth inside, with the heater next to them, and Colette's arms around him like the softest scarf...

Lloyd picked his head up immediately, standing straight. Wait, he knew how to solve this! "We should go outside. Yeah! And…wait… we should go  _ flying! _ Right now!"

Colette's hand paused in the middle of her hair-stroking, making part of Lloyd a little sad at it's absence. "Are you sure? We just got inside!" Another small space between breaths, spoken carefully. "And your wings…" 

He knew what she meant, deep in the back of his head, in the part where it wasn't drowned out by wine and the dizzying heat he felt when Colette looked at him just so. What he felt for her was solid and real - and so unlike his wings at all. He had rarely used them since the first time, unsure about their reliability. A Rheiard was solid, and his very own feet were more dependable. Heck, even Noishe he could trust to get to where he needed to be.

But sometimes you needed to take a risk, didn't you?

With a grin, he leaned in to kiss Colette, fast and full of rushing feelings that threatened to completely overwhelm him. But in a good way, where his heart was beating so hard and flushing warmth and energy all throughout his body. Colette only made a small little sound of surprise, one felt against his lips before she kissed him back.

It wasn't the first time they had ever kissed, and Lloyd couldn't imagine a time there could be a last. It felt like everything, wrapped into one, his heart so full he was sure it would overflow.

He had felt like this before; something so close to desperation that he would do anything at all to keep it near him. All of it had built, and he had to do something with that intense feeling, to keep it as steady as Colette would do for him.

He leaned back, even as he was reluctant to leave her mouth. Her lips were half-parted, and the mist of her breath was still there, ephemeral like the steam of a hot drink. It made him want to lean again and swallow it up, to take that heat within him.

But he also saw the reflection of a bright blue in her eyes. "Lloyd!"

With that, he knew. Grinning wide, Lloyd reached to open up the window of their inn room. Cold wind rushed forth, instantly waking him up and be grateful for the pricks of ice he felt at his cheeks. "Let's go!"

Behind him, his wings stretched, floating motes of sapphire sprinkling out into the air, dancing with the snowflakes that drifted inside. Colette's hair whipped around her, but she was laughing and smiling too. "Now you really are being silly!"

"I know!" Lloyd grabbed Colette by the hand, one foot already on the windowsill and leading her out. "Let's keep flying until it's the new year!"

"But how will we know?" Yet that didn't stop Colette from following him, already leaning out the window with Lloyd, thin spans of pink leaving her back. 

"Uh...we can guess!" And he didn't want to wait, he didn't want this feeling to end, so he took both her hands, stretched forth his wings, and soared out into the sky with her.

Flanoir was always so deeply covered in snow, and only a few times had he seen it from above in a Rheiard. The city looked like an array of little dollhouses, like the kind his dad would sometimes make for certain commissions. But that was always way high up, not like now, where their wingtips brushed across rooftops, and where they could hear the crunch of snow from people down below.

The air was so cold, and without their cloaks, they were exposed even more to the elements, the snow already damping his hair and jacket. His smile must have been frozen on his face. Maybe even their locked hands were frozen too! 

Colette only held on tighter, not seeming to mind at all. "It's still so cold!" 

"But it's good, isn't it?" Lloyd could only remember that one moment from her, on the way the snow had fallen on her hair, on how she reached out to catch them until they melted against her palm. Though maybe it felt different to having the snow fly against your face instead. 

If other people had noticed them- and how could they not, with the way they laughed and shouted while flying high like excitable birds - he didn't mind. He couldn't, because even as they flew, he could only grasp the joy on her face, on how tightly she gripped his fingers, and how her wings made a pink pattern against the night sky.

...They didn't fly long before Colette pointed out to him. "Look out, Lloyd!"

"Uh!" His wings beat again, making small blizzards around themselves. He swerved around the steeple he had nearly crashed into, feet stumbling onto a snow-and-ice covered roof. 

Then promptly, he fell right on his butt. And then just as promptly, Colette fell right on him, a mass of limbs and wings.

The snow continued to fall, and the air was still so very cold. Lloyd looked up into the night sky, right through the top foremost shape of Colette's right wing. "...Is it midnight yet?" Oh, he was going back to feeling tired.

"Ehe…" Colette giggled softly, sitting up, her cheeks so red, her hair a little ruffled. "There's a clock on one of these buildings. I don't think we're on it though."

Too hard to read clocks...too hard to move. The snow made a nice pillow, in a way.

"Should be able to tell by the stars up there…" he muttered, head laying back on the roof, unmindful to how much snow was sneaking into his jacket collar. "I bet it's already really close."

"Yeah," Colette agreed, her hands reaching out to his face, cold palms pressed against his equally cold cheeks. She was quick to connect with him this way, the natural motion never questioned, never unwanted. "And when it's passed, it means I got to spend a whole year with you."

Lloyd knew then why he felt this way, the sudden rush, the sudden desperation that made him kiss her so deeply and take her flying up into the sky, on wings that he only relied on when he had no choice left.

There was a time when Colette was not supposed to live this long. Still the years kept on growing, and still she was here.

"You always will, Colette," he told her, leaning into her touch. "For a lot more years. A lot more." It was the one real fear he had, but her cold palms that turned warm at the touch of his skin, and the wings that kept her slightly afloat, were all things that were a part of her, all still here. 

Maybe, she remembered too, because her eyes brightened then, catching both violet and azure. Or maybe, it was the wine finally catching up to her, finally unlocking all the little things inside that filled her chest, close to overflowing.

"You promise I will?" she asked him, voice soft.  _ That I can stay by your side? _

Lloyd reached out to her, pulled her down, both of them so, so warm against the cold. "I promise."

So strange, to feel so light yet so heavy, to feel the heat in one's skin and yet also a deep chill. But his shiver as he kissed her again, on a slope of a snowy rooftop, was one of warmth instead. The steeple of the church was engraved against the sky, but the stars outnumbered it by so much. 

Their clothes were soaked, and even his wings ached a little. But Colette was all around him and that was enough.  _ I promise you'll stay with me, for every year. _


End file.
